


Another Chance

by dixonandgrimes



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Carol is a great mom, Drabble Collection, Family, Fluff, Gen, Henry is a precious child, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-09-16 16:14:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16957275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dixonandgrimes/pseuds/dixonandgrimes
Summary: Unrelated drabbles about the prince of the Kingdom and his new mom.





	1. Chapter 1

Carol was more than ready for the day to end. It had been stressful from the moment she’d woken up. One of the Kingdom's walls had fallen down, walkers stumbling into the streets. She’d been working hard since, the community seemingly falling apart lately.  
  
But now it was almost dark, and she was looking forward to going home. It was still a strange concept to her, not just having a home, but actually wanting to be there. She’d settled comfortably into Ezekiel and Henry’s little house, the role of partner and mother figure coming naturally to her.  
  
She let out a long breath as the front door closed behind her, her shoulders relaxing for the first time that day.  
  
“Ezekiel? Henry?” It was quiet, and she found her hand instinctively moving to the knife at her belt.  
  
Nabila stepped out of the living room and into the hall, smiling.  
  
“He had to go. Something about Rick calling a meeting. He asked me to watch Henry.” She explained.  
  
“Oh, thank you. I hope he wasn’t any trouble.” She was secretly glad not to be the one called to the meeting. Rick had been particularly fond of giving speeches lately, and Carol wasn’t prepared to step another foot outside tonight unless it was a life or death situation.  
  
“Not at all, he’s been in his room most of the evening. He said he has homework.”  
  
Carol frowned, guessing he must have found some new comic books or something. Getting the kid to do schoolwork wasn’t easy.  
  
“I better go, Jerry’s planned a romantic dinner.” Nabila grinned, moving towards the door and grabbing her coat. “I just hope it doesn’t involve squirrels this time.”  
  
“Well have fun.” Carol laughed, seeing the other woman out.  
  
Once she was alone, she made her way upstairs to Henry’s room. As she got closer, she thought she heard crying.  
  
“Henry?” She knocked softly on the closed door. “Can I come in?”  
  
Silence. Her heart began to race.  
  
She opened the door to find him lying on his bed, his face hidden by a pillow.  
  
“Henry?” She whispered, her anxiety lessening now she knew he wasn’t missing.  
  
A soft whimper was the only response she received, so she sat beside him, her hand going to his arm.  
  
“What’s wrong?” She asked, her thumb gently stroking his shoulder.   
  
He said something, but with the combination of the pillow and his crying, she barely made out a word.  
  
“What was that, sweetheart?”  
  
He sat up, his cheeks covered in tears. “I lost.. I lost sn-snowbear.” He managed to say between hitched breaths.  
  
Carol’s heart ached for him. “It’s alright. I’m sure he’s around here somewhere.” The scruffy, white teddy bear had been with Henry since before the turn. Carol had once tried to wash it, but Ezekiel had stopped her just in time.  
  
He shook his head, sniffling. “No! I took him outside and now he’s gone.” He erupted into more tears, so she opened her arms out to him, offering a hug.  
  
“Where did you go today?” She asked as he climbed onto her lap.  
  
“The big pond, a-and the orchard.”  
  
She rubbed his back, squeezing him for a second. “Then we’ll go and find him.”  
  
“Now?”  
  
“Of course. Go and put your shoes on.”  
  
  
~~~~~  
  
  
It turned out to be the most stressful hour of her day. Henry clung to her hand as they retraced his steps, and searched every possible hiding spot for the toy. She knew she shouldn’t be wasting the precious flashlight batteries like this, but she didn’t care. She’d stay up all night if she could prevent the child from having to experience another heartbreak.  
  
“Mom! Look!” He let go of her hand, running ahead.  
  
She didn’t move for a moment. Did he just call her mom? Tears of joy sprang to her eyes, making it difficult to see as she watched him pick up the bear from underneath a tree.  
  
“I got him!” He said excitedly, running back to her and throwing his arms around her waist, the teddy squashed between them. “He must have fallen out of my backpack when I was climbing the tree!”  
  
“Good job, kiddo. I told you we’d find him.” She quickly wiped at her eyes before he could notice her tears.  
  
He grinned up at her, and she ruffled his hair.  
  
“Lets go home.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Do you think she would have liked me?”

The question came out of nowhere. Carol was sat at the kitchen table, making arrows for her new bow. Henry sat across from her, doing his school work. Every so often he would ask her a question about math, but mostly they sat in silence, the rain outside creating a comfortable atmosphere.

“Who?” She asked, looking up at him.

“Sophia.”

Her emotions rose instantly. She took a steadying breath before responding.

“How do you know about Sophia?” She asked softly.

“I heard you talking to dad last night.” He looked a little guilty, suddenly realizing he may have done something wrong by listening to their conversation.

“Did I wake you? I’m so sorry, Henry.” She had nightmares regularly, but they weren’t usually enough to wake anyone else up. Last night had been different. She’d woken with a scream, panicking when Ezekiel had tried to comfort her, temporarily lost in her own mind.

“It’s ok.” He shrugged. “I knew what was happening.”

He did. Both she and Ezekiel had spent many sleepless nights with the boy, his own traumatic past flooding into his dreams.

“What did you hear us talk about?” When she saw his hesitance to answer, she gave him a reassuring smile. “You’re not in trouble.”

He put his pencil down, looking at it for a moment, seemingly deep in thought.

“Dad said you should talk about the nightmare. You said it was about Sophia.” He picked up the pencil again and began to doodle on the corner of his notebook. “Then you talked about how you wish you could have protected her better.” He looked up at Carol. “I figured you had a kid before.. cos’ you’re such a good momma. Why don’t you talk about her?”

She stood from her chair, moving around the table and taking the seat next to him.

“At first it was because it hurt too much.” She said honestly. “But now.. it still hurts, but I suppose I’ve gotten used to keeping my memories to myself.”

He nodded. She hated that he understood that so well.

“I’d like to hear them.” He said with a smile, reaching up and touching the single bead on her necklace. “This was hers?”

Carol nodded. “It was.” She took his hand in hers. “You know you can talk about your memories too, right?”

He nodded. “Even the ones that hurt?”

“Especially those.” She whispered, tears prickling at her eyes.

He let go of her hand, and turned his notebook to a new page. “What did she look like?”

“You gonna draw her?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Yep.” He said proudly.

Carol smiled a little. “She was sweet, kind, didn’t have a mean bone in her body. You remind me of her.”

He frowned. “But I can’t draw _any_ of that.”

“She had blond hair, about this long..” She pointed to the length on herself. “Brown eyes, and lots of freckles.”

Henry began to draw with the kind of enthusiasm only a child could have. “I bet her smile was just like yours.”

Carol grinned.

~

After a while the rain stopped, and the sun shone in through the windows, casting light onto the table.

Henry added a rainbow to his picture.

“She would have loved you.” Carol whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

The sound of bare feet running down the hall towards their bedroom, was the only warning Carol got, before Henry darted under the covers at the foot of the bed, crawling up between her and Ezekiel. He was breathing hard and in the darkness she could just about make out the shape of the teddy bear tucked under his arm.

“It’s alright.” She whispered, turning to him and started rubbing his back. “Did you have a bad dream?”

He shook his head. “No.”

Ezekiel snored next to them. Carol continued to be amazed by what her husband could sleep through. She was a little jealous.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, concerned.

“There’s a walker in the bathroom.” He said, his tone one-hundred percent serious.

“I don’t think that’s possible, baby.” Carol checked their home was secure every night before she went to bed. A habit she refused to give up. There was no way a walker had snuck inside.

“There is!” He was on the verge of tears.

“Shhh. Alright. Shall I check?”

“Yes.”

She climbed out of bed, lighting the oil lamp that was on the windowsill, and taking it with her, leaving Henry in bed.

She wasn’t worried. He’d clearly had a vivid dream, and if her checking the bathroom for imaginary walkers meant he could go back to sleep, she was more than happy to do that.

So when she got to the bathroom and heard a quiet crash coming from behind the door, every muscle in her body froze, and her heart skipped a beat.

“Mom, you forgot your knife.” Henry’s quiet voice from behind her had her leaping out of her skin. She almost dropped the lamp, ready to fight whoever had snuck up on her.

“Shit!” She hissed, cupping the back of his head. “I’m sorry. You startled me.”

He was staring at her with wide eyes, her own fear not reassuring him one bit. “You.. forgot..” He trailed off, handing her the knife she kept under her bed.

“Thank you.” She passed the lamp to him. “Did you see the walker?”

“Not really. I closed the door real fast. I think it was taking a bath.”

“They don’t take baths, Henry.”

“I mean it was _in_ the bath.”

She snorted at the absurdity of the situation.

“Should I wake dad?” He whispered, nervously eyeing the closed door.

“No. It must have come in through the window.” She cracked open the door, the hinges creaking. The crashing sound stopped, which confused Carol further. She peered around the door, knife up and ready.

Henry was clinging to the back of her shirt, waiting anxiously.

Then Carol laughed. Loudly.

She swung the door open to reveal a mother possum, stood on a shelf, three babies clinging to the animal’s back. There was bottles and soap all over the floor, and claw marks on the shower curtain.

“Oh.” Was all Henry said, loosening his grip on Carol, realizing he was safe.

The possum hissed as Carol stepped into the room, waving her hands to try and get their visitor to go toward the window.

“We should give them to Daryl. You said he likes possum.”

“For breakfast, maybe.” She muttered.

“Ew!” Henry gasped.

~ ~ ~

It didn’t take long to herd them outside, Carol closing the window immediately. She left the mess and destruction to deal with in the morning, and tucked Henry into bed.

“I’m going to name them. And give them cobbler!” He said excitedly, as she smoothed down his blanket.

“No, you are _not_.” She smiled.

“But they’re just babies. They’re probably hungry. And I’ve always wanted a pet.”

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow.” She pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Goodnight.”

“Night.”

Carol knew they would talk about it tomorrow, and she knew the answer would still be no. However, there was no harm in letting him have the nectarines she’d been saving. It’s not like she needed them. The possum did have hungry babies to feed, after all.


End file.
